The Challenge
Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF), the entity charged with ensuring the safe trade of plant and animal products, was already linked to the IPPC hub, enabling the exchange of ePhytos with New Zealand. However, more work was required to allow similar, seamless electronic exchange with the country’s other main export markets. As well as this, phytosanitary certification for all non-registered exporters – most of them micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) – remained fully paper-based.
What We Did
The Alliance supported BAF in reviewing and revising its procedures to complete the adoption of the IPPC Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS), a web-based application that allows countries to connect to the IPPC hub without having to build a national Single Window.
The Impacts
Adopting the IPPC Solution has enabled traders to exchange ePhyto certificates with all key trading partners via a central exchange, or hub. Traders can access the system in local BAF offices instead of having to travel to one of two central locations to obtain the necessary paperwork. Adoption is projected to cut document processing times by 56% and to save exporters US $6 per certificate.
Fiji
